Welcome to Happy Garden Buffet
by You.Are.Me
Summary: Roxas wasnt expecting to find much at the cheap chinese buffet Pence had dragged him to- until he saw that head of bright red hair. AU akuroku


Welcome to Happy Garden Buffet

"This better not be more than 10 bucks or I'm in trouble, Pence…"

I grumbled, holding the heavy glass door open for Hayner and Olette who smiled in response and followed Pence on into the restaurant. I stepped in and peered around, taking in all the stereotypical decorations, the most prominent one being a little pond just inside the door filled with a few bloated koi fish overstuffed with 25 cent handfuls of fish food.

My friend turned to face me, a wide grin spread across his face.

"That's the beauty of this place, Roxas- all you can eat, stay as long as you like, and just $8 a plate!"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Dream come true…"

At a warning glance from Olette I sighed, trying to re-evaluate my attitude. I wasn't usually like this, and I _did_ like Chinese food- I just wasn't in the mood to eat a stomach full of junk at the moment. That, and…

"Hey Rox, what happened to that blonde you were talking to?"

Hayner smirked at me, leaning against the railing of the koi pond while we waited to be seated. I scowled at him.

"If I had just a few more minutes with her, I would've had a date. But no, Pence just _had _to get Chinese, _right now…_"

Olette giggled, though offering me a sympathetic smile.

"What was her name, anyway? I don't think I've ever seen her at a struggle match before…"

I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Namine, but it doesn't really matter anymore…"

Pence waved over at us.

"Guys, come on, we're getting our table!"

I looked over, raising my eyebrows when I saw our waiter. He was almost unnaturally tall but that seemed to be the most normal thing about him- I couldn't pick what to stare at first, the tear shaped tattoo on each cheek, the head of bright red, spiky hair, or the deep green eyes that almost seemed grin as they bore right back at me.

Realizing I was suddenly trapped in an unwanted staring contest I quickly looked down at my feet, to which the man only grinned and turned to lead us to our table. Once seated, I was granted with a name.

"Welcome to Happy Garden Buffet- name's Axel, I'll be stalking your glasses tonight- anyone know what they want to drink?"

He smirked over at me as if expecting a hearty laugh on my part at his little joke, which I only pursed my lips at before offering,

"I'll have a coke."

I peered at him another moment as he took my friends drinks, genuinely interested in this unusual character. I had never seen such eye catching hair, or eyes- and why was he so interested in me, anyway? I stood with the rest of my friends and made my way over to the buffet tables, grabbing a plate and loading it up with some sushi and rice. I wasn't really in the mood for much else, which found me back at the table first, nibbling my food alone.

Axel approached with a tray full of cokes and set them at each seat, placing mine in front of me last before grinning down at me.

"Into the authentic stuff, then?"

I blinked up at him, surprised, and with a mouth full of sushi.

"Wha-?"

He shrugged, with a deep chuckle.

"Most people I see here just get pizza and maybe some General Tso's- sushi's not exactly top pick."

I swallowed then shrugged, trying to be cool.

"It's sweet and salty at the same time, like chocolate covered pretzels or something. I like it."

He winked one of those green eyes at me.

"Such strange taste- you got a name, weirdo?"

I scowled.

"_I'm_ the weirdo? You own a mirror?"  
I clamped my mouth shut, realizing that might have been mean- what was I doing, acting like we knew each other? But he just laughed.

"Ouch, man, I got a heart you know…!"

I crossed my arms, again trying to be cool- though I wasn't really sure what I was trying to prove to this guy…

"Well, you walked right into it…"

Axel grinned at me again.

"Such a mouth on you- if I don't get a name, I'm just gonna have to make one up for ya, Sunshine…"

I made a face, finding the nickname much too childish.

"Sunshine? In that case, my name's Roxas…"

He laughed, picking up his tray.

"Thought that might work- well, nice to meet ya, Roxas."

And with a little wave he walked away again, collecting some plates a few tables over before disappearing into the kitchen; I watched him the whole time, unsure what to think of our conversation. Who was this weirdo, to be acting so friendly with me? Thinking about those green eyes grinning at me made my cheeks hot…

I shook my head, turning my attention back to my plate. One by one my friends returned and we all ate together, having good times daring each other to eat the most horrible things we could find up at the buffet tables, including tiny fried octopus and dumplings filled with fish eggs. When everyone went up for seconds I stayed behind, pretty full already, and passing the time instead pushing the ice around my empty coke glass.

All of a sudden a pitcher appeared and began to fill my glass, and I raised my head to find that Axel had returned.

"What, full already, Spiky? Don't you know you're supposed to eat until you puke at buffets?"

I wrinkled my nose, partially to hide the pink in my cheeks as I came face to face with those enticing green eyes again.

"I tell you my name, and you keep with the nicknames anyway…?"

He shrugged and glanced around the room a moment before subtly sliding out the seat across from me and taking a seat.

"So, kid, how old are ya, anyway? I'm guessing 14? 15?"

I scowled over at him, to which he only smirked.

"Try 18."

I had just turned 17 but for some reason I was compelled to lie to him, and as I peeked into those green eyes I was pretty sure he knew the truth.

"18, huh?"

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Still in high school- how cute…"

I blinked at him, a little surprised- how old was Axel, anyway? I had thought he was probably a senior in high school…

Seeing my surprise he leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

"Don't have a heart attack blondie; I'm only 20- not even old enough to drink, unless it's a Friday night…"  
He winked again and I blushed, unprepared for the green eyed attack.

He looked satisfied at the sight before glancing over and seeing my friends returning with their heaping plates. Quickly he stood, offering one last grin down at me-

"Seeya Roxy,"

before disappearing again. I just sat a moment, unsure what to think. Had that been goodbye? After practically asking my life story he'd just stand up and disappear like that? I found myself feeling… disappointed. I was hesitant to admit it, but I certainly _did_ find Axel interesting… though my blushing cheeks were making it difficult to keep my feelings a secret.

The rest of the night was uneventful, joking around with my friends until their plates were clean and stomachs bloated. Occasionally I'd glance around the restaurant, looking for that head of bright red hair, but every time was disappointed. Finally, we stood and made our way to the front desk, paying our bill and heading for the door. I had my hand shoved in my pocket again, peeking around the room one last time as I held the door for my friends before turning and making my way outside, shoulders practically slumped.

Then a few feet into the parking lot, that familiar voice called my name.

"Hey sunshine!"

He was there, leaning against the wall beside the door with a cigarette pressed to his lips, grinning at me as I tried not to make my excitement at seeing him again too obvious. Then he raised a hand, calling

"Catch!"

before tossing something my way. I caught it and looked down at the object- it was a fortune cookie. I raised my head to look at him again, to find he was stomping his cigarette and turning to head back inside.

Confused, I cracked the cookie open and peered down at the tiny piece of paper, before grinning.

"Was that our waiter Roxas? What'd he give you?"

Olette asked curiously, all three of my friends having stopped to face me.

"Just a fortune cookie."

I answered, still grinning. Pence pouted, as we started to walk along again.

"Why didn't we get any…?"

Trying to peer over my shoulder at it, Hayner asked,

"What does it say, anyway?"

I pocketed the cookie, lying with a shrug

" 'You will find a new love interest this week' "

Hayner batted a hand, with a laugh.

"Man, those things are so cheesy…"  
I laughed along with him, thinking the prediction wasn't as off as he might think as I fingered the small paper in my pocket. I had 7 digits that just might make it come true.


End file.
